Adolfus

File:Adolfus jacksoni.jpg

Male of Adolfus jacksoni

File:Adolfus africanus.jpg

Male of Adolfus africanus

Adolfus is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. The genus is endemic to subsaharan Africa.<ref name="RDB"/><ref name="Greenbaum et al. 2011"/>

Etymology

The generic name, Adolfus, is in honor of German explorer Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg.<ref>Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Genus Adolfus, p. 2).</ref>

Description

Adolfus are typically relatively large lacertids measuring Template:Convert in snout–vent length (SVL),<ref name="Greenbaum et al. 2011"/> except for the much smaller Adolfus masavaensis measuring only Template:Convert.<ref name="Wagner et al. 2014"/> The tail is cylindrical, without lateral fringes, and relatively long, about 1.7–2 times SVL. There is no sexual dimorphism. Based on Adolfus jacksoni, the clutch size is 3–5 eggs.<ref name="Greenbaum et al. 2011"/>

Habitat

Adolfus inhabit forest, forest clearings, and grasslands. A. jacksoni inhabits also urban environments. Adolfus alleni has been recorded as high as Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name="Greenbaum et al. 2011"/>

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid:<ref name=RDB/>

• Adolfus africanus Template:Small
• Adolfus alleni Template:Small
• Adolfus jacksoni Template:Small
• Adolfus kibonotensis Template:Small
• Adolfus masavaensis Template:Small
• Adolfus mathewsensis Template:Small

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Adolfus.

Further reading

• Greenbaum E, Villanueva CO, Kusamba C, Aristote MM, Branch WR (2011). "A molecular phylogeny of Equatorial African Lacertidae, with the description of a new genus and species from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163: 913–942.
• Sternfeld R (1912). "Reptilia". pp. 197–279 + Plates VI-IX. In: Schubotz H (Editor) (1913). Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Zentral-Afrika-Expedition 1907-1908 unter Führung Adolf Friedrichs, Herzogs zu Mecklenburg, Band IV [Volume 4], Zoologie II. Leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann. 485 pp. + 11 plates. (Adolfus, new genus Template:Webarchive, p. 220). (in German).